Scott Coker: Carano – Cyborg Winner to be Named First Female Champ

It’s been three months since Strikeforce acquired ProElite’s assets, however it wasn’t until this past Saturday at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields that the San Jose-based organization announced that have come to terms with female superstar, Gina Carano.

“We look forward to having Gina back, and I think that Showtime and CBS did a fantastic job of teeing up this fight so that it’s a relevant fight in the sport,” Coker stated of their latest signing.

Before ProElite’s demise, EliteXC had tentatively scheduled the highly anticipated Carano vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos bout for this past November, however due to their financial woes, they were forced to scrap the show.

Now that Coker officially has full access to both female sensations, he fully intends to pick up where EliteXC left off, as he will throw Carano immediately into the cage against Cyborg to headline their August 15 promotion.

“That’s going to be the No. 1 and the No. 2 female fighting in the world,” Coker said of the world’s two best women mixed martial artists. “It will be our first Strikeforce female title belt. We’re going to be proud to put that on.”

In case you missed that, not only did Coker just confirm that they will anoint their first women’s champ, but for the first time ever, a major MMA organization will have a female bout headline a big time event.

The show will also feature the lightweight rematch between champion Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez, as well as a title defense by Stikeforce’s heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem.

So regardless of the star power that their male counterparts bring to the table, Coker states that this night will be ladies’ night.

“But that [Carano vs Cyborg] fight is a fight that I think fans around the country would want to see,” Coker said. “I think it’s going to be a fight of epic proportions. It’s been built up. It’s been teed up real nice.”